Recently, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development organized a class ‘A’ conference of stakeholders in the Mine and Minerals sector in Abuja. It was a very well attended conference during which period the National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources (NCMMRD) was established.
There is already in existence the Council of Mining Engineers and Geosciences (COMEG), no mention of the metallurgical sector at all during the proceedings, even though there is in existence the National Steel Council Act since 1979 (Act no. 60), this Act has never seen the light of day till today.
Stakeholders in the Metallurgical (Iron, Steel, Aluminium etc) sector have been calling for similar conference/Summit to fashion out the way forward for the sector but so far no indication that this would happen any sooner.
The Ministry has been tautological in the nomenclature SOLID MINERALS. It should be noted that all minerals are solid, thus there is no need to add solid in the name, and this is a dictionary definition of Mineral: “solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical composition’.
Relevant stakeholders in the metallurgical sector are not consulted in most decisions of Government, typically the so called “MODIFIED CONCESSION AGREEMENT which was signed between the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the Global Infrastructure Holding Limited (GIHL) on 1st August, 2016. This was a great mistake and a disservice to Nigerians.
Stakeholders observe that this agreement is going to lead Nigerian Government to multiplicity of litigations and claims. Metallurgical stakeholders have been calling for Steel summit to be organized by the Ministry, but this is hitting a hard rock.
A National Metallurgical Bill has been passed by the National Assembly in 2015 and sent to Mr. President for his assent to pass it in to law.
This Bill has been returned to the National Assembly by the Presidency. The non-assent of the Bill is what makes the Metallurgical sector very vulnerable, particularly the private sector metallurgical industries that hang on profit making rather than meeting production best practices and meeting international quality standards.
Not one of the privately operated metallurgical industry in Nigeria has the requisite quality control equipment to ensure meeting the international standards. Of recent, a private scrap processing company, AFRICAN STEEL has publicized that there is a strong indication that after cement, Nigerian Steel Industry is the next sector to watch as African Industries Group, the largest manufacturer in the country, has started exporting the products to Morocco, Egypt and Ghana, “… that the Company is currently exporting 200,000 metric tonnes yearly out of its 1 million metric tonnes per annum production capacity”.
We hereby categorically state that not one of the privately owned iron and steel conversion companies own the complement of quality control and assurance equipment and facilities.
It was only the public owned steel companies like Ajaokuta Steel, Delta Steel, Jos Steel, Oshogbo Steel and Katsina Steel Companies that owned relevant quality control and assurance facilities as captive facilities.
With the hurried privatization exercise that transferred ownership of all public steel companies, except Ajaokuta Steel Company, we are not sure of the current status of these facilities.
It is only logical to assume that all privately owned companies are primarily set up to maximize profits, thus they cut corners to minimize the cost of investment and that is why they do not consider inclusion of adequate quality control facility in their planning and construction of their companies.
Here we call on Government to take stock of collapsed buildings and bridges in the country. The only facility that was designed and built for metallurgical quality test is the one established by the Government at the NATIONAL METALLURGICAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER (NMDC), Jos in Plateau State. This facility is commercially accessible but unfortunately there are no regulatory enforcement authorities in place.
The National Metallurgical Bill, if accented by Mr. President, would have given the relevant power and authority to regulate and enforce discipline and international best practices in the metallurgical industries in Nigeria. By the above we therefore question the authenticity of the claim by the African Steel Group as to being internationally certified of their products.
We read in one of the Nigerian National Dailies that “GSHL has faulted the statement credited to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Fayemi that the ownership of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited has now reverted to the Federal Government.
Global Steel in rebuttal, said the Minister’s statement was capable of misleading stakeholders and urged Fayemi to set the records straight.” Hon. Minister Sir, there is need for clarification on this subject matter otherwise we would be right to continue assuming some funny and fishy games that is why stakeholders are not involved and not adequately briefed of the Ministry’s decisions.
The African Iron and Steel Association has written to the Government advising it to create Ministry of Metallurgy (iron, steel, aluminium, tin columbite, etc) on its own right to avoid the sidelining of the Metallurgical sector by combining it with others like Power, Mines and Steel; Power and Steel; Mines and Steel Development; etc.
If one takes a cursory look at all these combinations, the steel aspect is always relegated to the back ground unless if it is for the annual budgetary purpose. Today’s Ministry of Mines and Steel development has devoted 80% of its activities to Minerals and Mines. Steel is only mentioned if allocation of money is involved.
The Federal Government of Nigeria should expunge all the grey legal issues on Ajaokuta, release funds for its completion so that the sector can help the Government’s drive towards job creation and diversification of revenue.
At full operation of Ajaokuta it can employ over 500,000 Nigerians both at her upstream and downstream sectors.
The Ministry of Justice should revisit the Modified Concession Agreement reached between Nigerian Government and GIHL and correct the legal anomalies therein and communicate same to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development for a lasting synergy to forestall any future misinterpretation of legal documents on the steel sector.
Finally, we urge the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to organize a Metallurgical (Steel) Summit (in line with the Mines and Minerals Conference which was held recently) to fashion out the way forward for the sector.
And there is need for the Government to have a stand-alone Ministry of Metallurgy to cater for relevant metals like iron, steel, aluminium, copper, tin, columbite, etc. Dr. Mohammed is the secretary general of the African Iron and Steel Association. He wrote this piece from Abuja
